Winfrey, Oprah (1954 - )

Repeatedly on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world, Oprah Winfrey is a television host, media mogul – in television, radio, film, and print – and philanthropist. Forbes magazine included her in its 2003 list of America’s billionaires, the first African American woman to become one.

The “Oprah Winfrey Show” is in its 22nd season, and is syndicated to 214 United States stations, and 139 countries. Launched in April 2000, O, The Oprah Magazine, has a current circulation of 2.3 million monthly readers, and is considered one of the most successful magazine launches in publishing history. In 2004, a companion publication, O at Home, made its debut.

Ms. Winfrey has garnered numerous honors and awards in recognition of her many contributions and achievements. After receiving more than 40 Emmy awards, she removed herself from further consideration. In 1998 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She has been honored by the National Book Foundation. In 2005 Winfrey was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and two years later she was awarded the 2007 Humanitarian Award from the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.

Born Oprah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, she was first raised by her impoverished grandmother on a farm. At age six she went to live with her mother Vernita in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There she was sexually abused by male relatives and friends of her mother. In 1993 Winfrey testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of a National Child Protection Act which President Bill Clinton signed into law as the “Oprah Bill” in of that year. At age 13 Winfrey went to live with her father Vernon in Nashville, Tennessee. Under his strict supervision, she was required to read a book a week, contributing to her lifelong love of books and reading.

In 1971 Winfrey entered Tennessee State University, and began working in radio and television in Nashville. She was the first African American woman to anchor the news at Nashville’s WTVF. In 1976 she moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she co-anchored the evening news and in 1978 became co-host of the talk show “People Are Talking.” In 1984 she was recruited to host her own Chicago, Illinois show “AM Chicago.” Competing in the time slot with the well-known talk show host Phil Donohue, within months her show had more viewers and went from last to first in the ratings. "AM Chicago" was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and has gone on to become one of the most successful shows in television history.

In 1988 Winfrey founded Chicago-based Harpo Productions, becoming only the third woman in American entertainment to own her own production facility; Harpo’s acquisition the same year of the “Oprah Winfrey Show” made her the first woman to own and produce her own talk show.

The exposure from her show led to her being offered in 1985 the role of Sofia in Steven Spielberg’s film of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Color Purple, a role for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, in a cast that included Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg.

Oprah’s Book Club, featured on her online website, www.Oprah.com, and intermittently on her TV show, is the largest book club in the world. Relatively unknown works chosen as Book Club selections have been propelled to the top of best seller lists. The Oprah website averages over 6.7 million visitors per month. In 2006 Winfrey launched “Oprah and Friends,” a satellite radio channel.

Winfrey’s philanthropic contributions include Oprah’s Angel Network and the Oprah Winfrey Foundation. In 2005, Business Week named her the greatest black philanthropist in American history. During a 2000 visit to meet Nelson Mandela, Winfrey pledged to open a school in South Africa. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls opened in January 2007 in Henley-on-Klip, South Africa. Winfrey has also recognized the service of others. At her Legends Ball in 2006 she honored the accomplishments of African American women such as author Maya Angelou, civil rights activist Coretta Scott King, and actress Ruby Dee, as well as “young uns” Halle Berry and Michelle Obama.

In 2007 Winfrey made her first political endorsement, announcing her support for Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Oprah Winfrey has been engaged to public relations executive Stedman Graham since 1992, and divides her time between her primary homes in Chicago and Montecito, California.

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